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Eau Claire School District
Classified Staff Newsletter |
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Letter From Pam....BUDGET CUTS I NOTICE! Upcoming Events.....
Welcome To Our New Members.. General Meeting Minutes.... . Minutes: Pam asked if there were any additions or corrections to the January minutes as they were presented in the newsletter. As there were none, Vicki Bennett made a motion to accept the minutes as presented. Gwen Plaza seconded the motion. All were in favor, and the motion carried. Treasurer's Report: As Pat Sykora was unable attend, Pam Campbell presented the Treasurer's Report. There is a total of $34,600.00 in all accounts. Jean Jungerberg made a motion to accept the Treasurer's Report as presented. Kathy Stark seconded the motion. All were in favor and the motion carried. COMMITTEE REPORTS: Membership: Kathy Stark reported that there are four new members since the last meeting. New membership cards will be mailed out in the next two weeks. Kathy will be sending out new forms to the Fair Share members to try to get them to join the Union. She is trying to get as many new members as possible before the end of the school year. Reclass: Since Carol Miller was not able to attend, Pam reported that they are setting up a reclass committee to review the reclassification application forms and update them. They want to go over the instructions to make sure they are clear and understandable. We will possibly be having a meeting in August or September to explain to members exactly what reclassification is, and to explain what the process entails. The Negotiations Committee is going to ask to move the Reclass deadline back a month, so applicants have a little more time to get their reclass requests in. The Committee, which consists of Carol Miller, Matt Schmitt, Paula Stark and Pam Campbell, is looking for suggestions on making the process clearer and easier to complete. Insurance Committee: Jean reported that the District Insurance Committee members met with and viewed presentations from the various insurance companies-Valley, Group Health, WPS WEA, and Security. The committee asked for bids from each. The RFP's will be sent out by next week and are due back in by the middle of April. Negotiations: Vicki Bennett reported that the date set to exchange negotiations proposals is March 24 2004, at 4:00 p.m. at the Board Office. This exchange of proposals is the only time during the negotiations that is open to all members. After that all negotiations meetings are closed. As in previous years, a list of the proposals will be available to everyone. Pam will send out an announcement reminding everyone of the proposal exchange, and that you are welcome to attend. The Negotiations Committee will be meeting tomorrow to finalize our proposal. The Board representative to the negotiations this year is Lloyd Joyal. Question: Do the member's get a copy of the proposal? Yes, we have in previous years. We will try to email it to all members. Staff Development: Jennifer was unable to be here, so Bev Christianson, the new Co-Chair of the Staff Development Committee reported. The most important item to report on is the ESEA testing requirements. There have been 12 testing sessions so far, and 80 of our members have passed all eight modules. The second testing sessions are scheduled for March 31. Then there is another session scheduled in each month of April, May and June, and possibly one in August. We don't know how many have met the requirement, and how many are left who haven't. After the Early Release Day on March 31, the Staff Development Committee will meet with Personnel. Personnel will run the reports and get the numbers for us on how many people who are required to take the tests have passed and met the requirements for their jobs. We may possibly set up more training sessions in the summer. Pam re-sent ESEA information with the link to the website information, and the new schedule so it should be in everyone's in-box. What is Important for our staff to know is that the District Administration has made the commitment to make the test as easy and accessible as possible for all our members to complete. The other area that the Staff Development Committee has been concentrating on is the Professional Development Plan (PDP). Administration has approached us about being Lifelong Learners along with the other employees in the District. They would like us to have some kind of goals and plans to grow and learn that are appropriate for our group. Dick Fields is working .with us to adjust the Staff Development framework that exists so that the language in that framework includes us and makes sense for our group as well as the others. Jennifer Decker is putting together a letter to all of our members explaining all the different pieces and where we're at in the process. There will be more information coming. Pam mentioned an idea that came from the Union. On the next Early Release Day at 3:00 NHS there will be a session on Healthworks, which is our Employee Assistance Program. Healthworks has wanted to make a presentation. The Union pays for that service, $19.00 per member. Healthworks offers many services to our members that most are unaware of, including family counseling, finance consulting and many other types of services. Question: Could we have them present at the first fall meeting? We will have them either then or at some other meeting. Pam will get more information. Social: Ginny Nowak was unable to attend. We are looking at options for the Retirement Dinner. Let Ginny at DeLong know if you have suggestions or preferences. Labor: Pam reported that there are now ongoing grievances at this time. They have one issue they are working on, and that is additional testing administered after the district clerical test has been taken. What needs to be changed on the clerical test to make it fit what the Administrators are looking for? Right now each Administrator has their own definition of the word 'qualified'. If you have any questions or issues, Matt is at a lot of different schools and if you need to talk to someone personally, you can talk to him. There will be a Building Representative Training session in May. Pat (Underwood) Gansluckner will be presenting at this session. Pam sent an email to the building representatives regarding Building Rep Training, and what day would be best. New Business: Pam passed around fliers on Hayward Conference
in April and the PSRP Conference on May 15 & 16. Notices will be
sent out on both conferences. We need to know who is planning on
retiring for the Retirement Banquet. If you know of anyone planning to
retire, please let the Executive Committee know. Our union Constitution
needs to be revised. We probably won't be working on it until after May.
Pam would like to get the Building Rep training completed first.
Remember, if members have any questions or concerns please contact an
Executive Board Member. The only way to get answers is to ask. You can
do it anonymously if you are more comfortable. We are here to help. As
there was no other business, Pam asked for a motion to adjourn. Bev
Christianson made a motion to adjourn. Vicki Bennett seconded the
motion. All were in favor, and the meeting adjourned at 5:20 p.m. Political Action, not Inaction: In this time of shrinking budgets, attacks on public employees and
taxpayer discontent, we must act to ensure our own viability, our own
job security and our own bargaining power. Please, respond to the
information and requests made of you. If you have your own concerns or
questions, please direct them to either Matt Schmitt or Pam Campbell. We
are our union's designated COPE representatives. COPE is the AFT
Wisconsin's Committee on Political Education, and we will be working
with other unions to educate our members, contact legislators and try to
influence our future to benefit our members. We need your involvement
and your commitment to change the direction of our government—be part
of the team, be part of the effort, be part of the UNION. Staff Development Committee News We have encouraged all our members to meet the education or testing requirement—even if they are not required to do so at this time. Any employee that meets these requirements would then be "covered" in case of future transfer, layoff or changes in federal funding. We know that several members have done exactly that—taken the tests although not required to do so. As a result, we do not know how many of the 80 people passing the tests are included in the 117 members who must meet the testing requirement. Two tutoring/testing sessions are offered on the March 31 Staff Development Day. After those sessions, the Personnel Department will run a report and let us know how we stand—how many of our members still need to meet the requirements. Testing sessions are also planned for April, May, June and August:
If this does not meet your needs for tutoring/testing, let us know. If additional summer sessions are needed, we will work with administration to try to get them scheduled. Professional Development Administration has approached members of the Executive Council regarding lifelong learning and professional development for our members. We will keep you informed as we get more information. Staff Development Committee Co-Chairs Building Rep Training In May AFT Wisconsin's History and What It Means To You Over the years, AFT Wisconsin has continued to grow by leaps and bounds. Membership now includes paraprofessional school-related personnel, graduate employees and state employees with over 500 different job classifications. Today, AFT Wisconsin represents over 17,000 diverse members and continues to grow. AFT Wisconsin negotiates on two levels—locally they negotiate a contract with employers that cover wages, benefits, working conditions, and terms of employment. On the state level they work on the legislature, the WTCS State Board, the Department of Public Instruction and other agencies that directly affect our daily work lives. The legislative and political programs are designed to improve our work life through responsive representation in the State Capitol. They work to help members become more politically and legislatively active. That is one of the goals of the Solidarity Fund—to educate and inspire our members to become more informed and more involved in helping to determine their own future. Nationally, American Federation of Teachers is the oldest public employee union in the country. In 1916, AFT began organizing public employees and today they represent over 1 million public employees. We are a strong state and national union and your involvement in your local union is what we need to stay strong and vital. Your new Executive Committee
Congratulations to your new leadership team! Bits & Pieces,.. RETIREE'S ADDRESSES - If you know of an retirees who would be interested in attending the Retirement Dinner in the spring, please let us know their names and addresses, and we will send them an invitation for the next Retirement Dinner. WE STILL NEED THREE MORE Building Reps Robbins, Meadowview, and Flynn now need reps! The current list of Building Representative and the schools they represent can be found on the last page of this newsletter. If you see that a Building Rep is needed in your school, please consider volunteering or sharing the duties with . fellow member. Also. please let Kitty know if she has listed the wrong person for your school. to volunteer, call anyone on the Executive Council. INSERVICE SUGGESTIONS REQUESTED: If you have any ideas for in-service workshops, Earl; Release Days, or other staff development activities please get your ideas to Jennifer Decker or Be> Christianson. WEB ADDRESS: The Wisconsin Retirement System web address HAS CHANGED. To get information off the Internet about retirement the new web address is: http://etf.wi.gov/index.htm Do you have something you'd like to see in this newsletter? If you would like to contribute to this newsletter, get your ideas & suggestions to Kitty Jennerman at the Board of Ed. Things you might like to contribute would include things like activities at your schools, crafts, recipes, jokes (keep'em clean), contract issues & questions, & for sale items. Contributions are always welcome. Also, ii you see an error that needs to be corrected, please let me know. Kitty Jennerman,Editor) Meeting Schedules.... |